Sunday, July 31, 2016

Preparing for rough weather -part 2 - food/water

Make sure you have food that is shelf stable and a way to cook it. Practice cooking a meal using no oven or microwave. It can be done.

I'm lucky, I gave a gas cooktop instead of an electric range. I do have an electric wall oven though - so roasting or baking is out for me. If I fire up the generator it's to keep the well pump and freezer going.

Long term power outage? Grocery shortages? How to make your ow bread with no oven or power? Look into a Dutch oven - those cast iron things...try to locate one at a tag or church sale....or bite the bullet and buy a lodge brand one (cabelas, Walmart). They last just about forever if cared for properly. I have biscuit making from scratch down in one of those, corn bread too. I know someone who can even bake loaf bread in one - we are happy with biscuits and cornbread for now....

If you don't have a camp stove (propane or Coleman fuel) I reccomend one. If you've never used one and have to buy one new- Go for propane. I'm pretty experienced with both but get nervous with Coleman fuel. Another good option is a butane stove (they look like a hot plate with a cylinder for the gas). They are a little more pricey but are a stable single burner option.

Going back to hussicane sandy....I knew there would be a substantial power outage. Rather than panicking about bread and milk I pulled out meat in the freezer, thawed it and fired up the crock pots. I had a huge vat of meat sauce and white chicken chili going and done before the power went out. I even froze a couple quarts of each. I can reheat those on the gas cooktop. I also cooked a pound of pasta super al dents in case in the fridge. I did stock up on bread at the grocery store but not deli meats....peanut butter doesn't spoil. We survived. Because of the generator we didn't lose the freezers, but before the storm we consolidated what we could to the chest freezer bringing up smaller faster thawing items to the kitchen freezer to get used first just in case.

Of course you should have plenty of canned and no cook items on hand.

Water.....
plan on 1 gallon per person/day minimum! I hate to admit it but we have a few gallons of water from the grocery store on hand at all times. When I know there is a hurricane coming or any bad weather, we fill the bathtub (I will use pool water to flush with though). I also have 2 5gallon drink cooler jugs that get filled 1 for kitchen use and 1 in reserve, and 2 1.5 gallon ones that are for the bathroom sinks (hygiene use).

Without power you may need to bucket flush, the bathtub can hold water for that. Or if you have a generator use, put a bucket in while you shower to collect rinse and extra water....the toilet doesn't care if there's some shampoo in it.

If you feel like keeping small bottles of water on hand, stock up and rotate them through before the words weather alert are uttered on the news. Watch sales!